A man takes pictures of a flight information board displaying the Scheduled Time of Arrival (STA) of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 (top, in red) at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, March 8, 2014. (Reuters / Kim Kyung Hoon) / Reuters

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 carrying 239 people crashed into the sea, reports Vietnamese state media citing a Navy official. The craft disappeared from radars early on Saturday morning over Vietnamese airspace.

Vietnamese Air Force planes have spotted two oil slicks which
they suspect may have come from the missing airplane, AP
reported. The Air Force said the slicks were discovered off the
southern tip of Vietnam and resemble the kind of trail left by
fuel from a jetliner.

Earlier Vietnamese state media said the plane came down close to
Vietnam’s Tho Chu Island, however these reports have not yet been
confirmed by Malaysia Airlines who still describe the flight as
"missing". At a press conference in Beijing,
representatives from Malaysia Airlines said no wreckage has yet
been found and they have deployed boats and helicopters in the
area to verify reports from the Vietnamese Navy.

Malaysia Airlines said flight MH370 lost touch with Subang Air
Traffic Control around 02:40 local time Saturday morning

The aircraft left Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:41 and
was expected to land in Beijing at 06:30 local time (22:30 GMT).

Despite local news reports, Vietnamese and Malaysian rescue crews
have not located the plane’s signal, but Hanoi believes the craft
disappeared in Vietnamese airspace.

The flight was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants,
and 12 crew members, the airline said in a statement.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities
who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the
aircraft," the airline added.

There were 14 nationalities represented among the 227 passengers,
according to airline officials. Passengers include 153 Chinese,
38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, seven Australians, five
Indians, four Americans, and one Russian, among others.

“Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers
and crew,” Malaysia Airlines said in a further
statement.“Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency
responders and authorities and mobilize its full support.”

The last contact the plane had with air traffic controllers was
120 nautical miles off the east coast of the Malaysian town of
Kota Bharu, the airline said on Saturday. The pilot of the flight
was 53-year-old Malaysian national Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah who
has logged a total of 18,365 flying hours and has been working
for Malaysian airlines since 1981.

China is assisting Malaysia Airlines with the search for the
plane, Chinese state television reported.